Realist Theories of Crime

Question 1

REALIST THEORIES

Answer 1

Realists argue that crime is a real problem to be tackled
Realism arose in the 1970s and 80s in the UK and USA as a reaction to significant rises in the crime rate, especially in street crime, burglary and assault
The official crime statistics should be taken seriously because they reflect patterns of crime and the ‘typical criminal’
We should work with governments to come up with practical solutions to crime
Victims centered approach - victims and the public fear of crime are at the centre of theory and policy ideas

Question 2

Left wing:

Answer 2

Generally linked to Labour party concepts
‘Tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime’
Recognise importance of street crime, white-collar crime and global crime

Blame social injustices, inequalities and relationships between the police, wider society and offenders

Solutions focus on structural changes to tackle social causes of crime

Question 3

Right wing:

Answer 3

Generally linked to Conservative party concepts
being ‘tougher on the criminals than the causes’
Focus almost exclusively on street crime

Blame the individual offenders

Solutions focus on controlling people (offenders)

Question 4

Right Realism - Crime is the product of three factors:

Answer 4

Biological differences
Inadequate Socialisation
Individual’s ‘Rational Choice’ to offend

Question 5

right realism is associated with

Answer 5

Associated with the shift to the right in politics in the 1970s: the right wing neoliberal government of Margaret Thatcher which came to power in 1979 and republican presidency of Ronald Reagan in the USA, starting in 1981

Right Realists reject the Marxist idea that economic or structural factors such as poverty and inequality are the root cause of crime

Question 6

BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES

Answer 6

Wilson & Herrnstein (1985) put forward a bio-social theory about criminality arguing that crime is caused by a mixture of biological and social factors.
Biological differences make some people more predisposed to committing crime than others. For example, certain hormones and personality traits can lead to increased aggression, impulsivity and risk taking.

Herrnstein and Murray (1994) - argue that one of the main causes of crime is low intelligence levels which are biologically determined.
They attempted to use IQ tests to demonstrate a correlation between lower intelligence and criminality, arguing low IQ is linked with race, class and criminality.
However this evidence has been discredited

Question 7

INADEQUATE SOCIALISATION

Answer 7

Effective socialisation (from the nuclear family) reduces the risk of criminality, as it ensures transference of norms, values, right and wrong and self control.
Children who are socialised inadequately as a child have more risk of becoming offenders. Murray (1990) argues that crime is increasing because of a growing underclass who are failing to socialise their children properly.

Question 8

New Right Murray: inadequte socalisation

Answer 8

Led to welfare dependency, causing decline of marriage and growth of lone parent families as well as men not having to take responsibility for their family by working

Murray argues that lone parent families are not adequate socialisers, especially if the man is absent from the child’s life – boys lack a role model and paternal discipline.

They turn to other, often delinquent, role models on the street and gain status through crime

Question 9

Critisicm of Murrays Inadequate Socilisaion

Answer 9

Tham (1998)’s study found the crime rate increased more in Britain than Sweden, even though welfare provision is greater in Sweden

Question 10

RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY

Answer 10

A theory that states everyone has free will and the power of reason.
Clarke (1980) argues the decision to commit crime is due to a choice based on a rational calculation of the likely consequences. If it is perceived the rewards outweigh the costs, then someone may turn to crime.
Right realists argue that in society, perceived costs of committing crime are low there is little risk of being caught and punishments are lenient anyway, even if they are.
This is why they thought the crime rate had increased through the 1970s.

Question 11

Routine activity Theory - Felson (2002)

Answer 11

For a crime to occur there must be three things:
1. Absence of a ‘capable guardian’
2. Motivated offender
3. Suitable target

Offender acts rationally: the presence of a guardian is likely to deter a criminal

Question 12

EVALUATIONS OF RIGHT REALISM: STRENGTHS

Answer 12

Continues to heavily influence political thinking and policy making in the UK and USA today.
It recognises the importance of community control and community responses.

Question 13

EVALUATIONS OF RIGHT REALISM: LIMITATIONS

Answer 13

Ignores wider structural causes such as poverty.

It overstates offenders rationality and how far they make cost-benefit calculations before commiting a crime – it may explain utilitarian crime but not violent crimes.

It views criminals as free choosing, which contradicts its claim behaivour is determined by biology and socialisatiion.

Lily et al (2003) state low IQ only accounts for 3% of crimes.
Does not pay attention to white collar or corporate crime.

Question 14

Right Realist - Two Types of Strategy

Answer 14

Situational Crime Prevention
Environmental Crime Prevention

Question 15

Situational Crime Prevention

Answer 15

Concerned with making it harder to commit a crime by changing the situation e.g. improving lighting

Question 16

Environmental Crime Prevention

Answer 16

Concerned with improving the physical environment e.g. cleaning up graffiti

Question 17

SITUATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION (SCP)

Answer 17

These strategies are based on the theory that most crimes are opportunistic and based on the offender making a rational choice to commit a crime.

The best known example is ‘target hardening’ – making people/buildings/objects a less attractive, ‘easy’, soft target.

Question 18

exmaples of target hardening

Answer 18

CCTV
Security guards
Home Survellance
Open plan spaces
Alarm systems
Access control

Question 19

CASE STUDY for SCP

Answer 19

Marcus Felson (1998) The Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City was poorly designed and provided plentiful deviant opportunities.

E.g. the toilets were used for luggage thefts, drug dealing, rough sleeping etc.

A redesign of the physical environment greatly reduced these activities e.g. large sinks where the homeless would bathe were replaced by small hand basins, toilet cubicles were made bigger so luggage could be taken in

The idea was to ‘design crime out’

Question 20

SCP Birmingham

Answer 20

Poyner and Webb (1997) used a field experiment and discovered that there was a high rate of theft in the Bullring centre in Birmingham and that thefts occurred in 2 markets which were densely packed. They redesigned the markets and crime fell by 70%.

Question 21

EVALUATION (AO3) OF SITUATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION

Answer 21

1.Displacement
Critics of this strategy argue that it does not stop crime from happening, but just moves it from one area to another (they displace it). For example, placing CCTV in a shop may stop crime in that shop, but the offender may just go to a different shop instead (a softer target).
It is not dealing with the root cause of why that offender wants to commit a crime in the first place.
E.G Chaiken et al (1974) found that a crackdown on subway-robberies in NY only lead to crime above the surface

2. It assumes that ‘rational choice’ is the main cause of crime and ignores other possible causes. What other causes are there? Think about other perspectives…
3. Focusses on petty street crime and ignores white-collar crime/corporate crime/state crime which are arguably more costly and harmful - why is this a problem?
4. Assumes criminals always act rationally but that doesn’t work for violent crimes and crimes committed under influence of drugs
5. Ignores the root causes of crime, such as poverty/unemployment/inequality/racism etc - means it difficult to create long term strategies for crime prevention (links to displacement)

Question 22

ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME PREVENTION (ECP)

Answer 22

Wilson and Kelling (1982) and their ‘broken windows’ thesis.

They use the analogy of ‘broken windows’ to stand for various signs of disorder in some neighbourhoods. E.g. graffiti, begging, littering, vandalism, excessive noise, prostitution, drunkenness
If there’re broken windows (or graffiti, vandalism etc) that is not repaired then it tells society that no one cares that this is happening.
These neighbourhoods have a lack of formal social control (police presence) as police turn a blind eye to petty nuisance behaviour
They also lack informal social control (the community) as people feels intimidated and powerless to challenge it

The situation will deteriorate tippling the neighbourhood into a spiral of decline where crime increases as it is deemed ‘okay’ here.

Respectable residents move out (if they can) and the area becomes a magnet for deviants.

Question 23

Applying Right Realism: Broken Windows theory

Answer 23

A Home affairs committee looked into the causes of the London riots and concluded that the single most important reason the riots spread was because media spread the idea that police were unable to control the area.

Question 24

Wilson & Kelling’s solution is to crack down on any disorder using a 2-part strategy:

Answer 24

**1. Environmental Improvement strategy **
Anything damaged in the environment must be repaired immediately without delay. E.g. broken windows, abandoned cars, otherwise more will follow and the neighbourhood will be on the slide

2. Zero Tolerance Policing strategy
Instead of merely reacting to crime, police must take a proactive approach and tackle the slightest hint of disorder, even if not criminal. This prevents serious crime taking root.

Question 25

Evidence to support Broken Window’s theory: The case study of New York City in 1980s

Answer 25

In the 1980s, New York City’s crime rate was soaring. Total crime had more than doubled over the previous two decades; violent crimes tripled.

The theory suggests that policing methods that target minor crimes, such as vandalism, loitering, public drinking and fare evasion, help to create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness.

50% drop in homoscide rate

Question 26

EVALUATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME PREVENTION

Answer 26

1. Strength - Zero tolerance policing strategies have been very influential globally, including in the UK where it has influenced antisocial behaviour policies (e.g. ASBOs)
2. It only focuses on certain types of crime- petty street crime rather than more serious corporate/white collar crime.
3. Gives police free-reign to discriminate against minority groups, youths and the homeless etc.
4. Similar to SCP, it may just cause displacement and not deal with the actual causes
5. Left realists criticise the over emphasis on controlling disorder rather than tackling the causes of neighbourhood decline e.g. lack of investment in the area e.g. marginalisation, poverty and alienation

Question 27

Anti social behaviour-uk

Answer 27

You can get a civil injunction, Community Protection Notice (CPN) or Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) as punishment for antisocial behaviour.
Civil injunctions, CPNs and CBOs replaced Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ASBOs are still used in Scotland.

Antisocial behaviour includes:
drunken or threatening behaviour
vandalism and graffiti
playing loud music at night

Question 28

Left realists: CRITICISMS OF OTHER VIEWS

Answer 28

They accuse other sociologists of not taking crime seriously enough, and believe we need explanations of crime that lead to practical strategies for reducing it.
They believe crime statistics are accurate, and reflect true patterns of crime in society i.e. the working class and ethnic minorities are committing the most crime

Question 29

Taking Crime Seriously

Answer 29

Marxism acknowledges white collar/ corporate crime, which left realists look for. However, Marxists don’t focus enough on working class crime.

Neo- Marxists romanticise this (Robin Hood figures) stealing from the rich as political resistance. Ignores that victims are other working class people, not rich capitalists

Interactionists acknowledge the impact of discrimination and labelling on the individual. However, they overlook the real victims - working class people.

Question 30

Left realism: Causes for crime: Lea and Young (1993) - MRS theory

Answer 30

Marginalisation
Relative Deprivation
Subculture

Question 31

MRS left realism: Marginalisation

Answer 31

Minority/ subordinate groups being pushed to the edges of society by agencies including the media, law and education. Those who lack clearly defined goals are socially excluded and may feel abandoned and frustrated and experience economic and social deprivation.

Question 32

MRS left realism: relative deprivation

Answer 32

Feeling deprived compared to others in society. We may assume that as wealth increases in a society, crime decreases. However, the opposite is true. In wealthy countries, the gap between those who ‘have’ and those who ‘have not’ widens and we constantly judge ourselves against people more successful than ourselves. Living in environmental poverty (high unemployment and poor environment) can cause individuals to commit crimes/ deviant acts due to lack of opportunities. resources.

Question 33

MRS left realism: subculture

Answer 33

Subcultures tend to be created as a way to get by when experiencing either or both of the above. These work in the same way as explained by subcultural theorists.

Question 34

Lewis et al (2011)

Answer 34

found the desire to consume by looting what was otherwise denied them was a significant factor motivating approximately 15,000 people involved in riots and looting in English cities in August 2011

Question 35

‘LATE MODERN’ SOCIETY AND EXCLUSION - YOUNG

Answer 35

Young has more recently re-developed this theory in 2002, to link his explanations of crime to society today.

Young claims we are currently in a ‘late modern society’ where instability, insecurity and exclusion make the problem of crime worse.

Since the 1970s, de-industrialisation and the loss of unskilled jobs have increased unemployment, especially for young people and people of colour, and many jobs are now short term and low paid.

This, alongside New Right cuts to welfare spending, has led to increased exclusion of those at the bottom.

Question 36

‘LATE MODERN’ SOCIETY AND EXCLUSION
Exclusion is made worse by:

Answer 36

Growing individualism: Growing emphasis on self-seeking and less concern for community and others - increases feelings of relative deprivation
Weakening of informal controls: Traditional social structures like the family and close knit communities no longer provide support and informal controls
Growing economic inequality: Globalisation has meant that the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest has grown massively (huge rewards for the top, reduced jobs for the bottom) - increased relative deprivation

Question 37

THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA
left realism

Answer 37

Young also notes the growing contrast between cultural inclusion and economic exclusion as a source of relative deprivation

Media-saturated late modern society promotes cultural inclusion: everyone, even the poor, have access to the media’s materialistic, consumerist cultural messaging
There is greater emphasis on leisure, personal consumption and immediate gratification, raising everyone’s expectations of a ‘good’ life
At the same time, people at the bottom are economically excluded: they are denied opportunities to gain the products consumer society pushes them to buy

Question 38

bulimic society - young

Answer 38

This contrast between cultural inclusion and economic exclusion creates a ‘bulimic society’: people gorge themselves on media images of expensive consumer lifestyles but are forced by economic circumstances to ‘vomit out’ their raised expectations, causing frustration and resentment.
This is further increasing relative deprivation, and further increasing crime.

Question 39

Young - GENERALISED RELATIVE DEPRIVATION

Answer 39

• Another trend in late modern society is for relative
  deprivation to be felt throughout society, not just by
  those at the bottom.
• There is widespread resentment of undeserving high
  rewards that some receive. E.g. premiership footballers, ‘fat-cat’ bankers
• This results in crime being found throughout the social structure, not just at the bottom
• **Relative deprivation downwards also occurs whereby the middle class, who have to be hardworking and disciplined to succeed resent the ‘underclass’ who they stereotype as lazy and irresponsible, living off undeserved state benefits - MC feel they’re deprived for working hard **
• This has lead to nastier types of crime like ‘hate crimes’
  as a result of relative deprivation downwards e.g. racist
  attacks on asylum seekers

Question 40

LATE MODERNITY AND CRIME - THE PUBLIC REACTION

Answer 40

Public reactions to crime are changing too
Late modern society is more diverse and there is less public consensus about right and wrong - boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour are becoming blurred
At the same time, informal controls become less effective as families and communities disintegrate
This makes the public more intolerant and leads to demands for harsher penalties and increased criminalisation of unacceptable behaviour.
Late modern society is a high-crime society with a low tolerance for crime

Question 41

Young - a later (2011) study: The falling crime rate

Answer 41

Young found in 2011 that since the mid-1990s the crime rate has fallen substantially
This is a problem for realists because it suggests that crime is no longer the major threat they had originally claimed
However, Young notes that it continues to be seen as a problem among the public

Question 42

Young - The rising anti-social rate

Answer 42

Crime surveys also show high levels of public concern about anti-social behaviour
Young sees this as a result of ‘defining deviance up’ - making previously non-deviant behaviour now deviant
Since the 1990s, governments have tried to control a wider range of behaviours, introducing ASBOs (Anti-social behaviour orders) in 1998 and IPNAs (Injunctions to Prevent Nuisance and Annoyance) in 2015

Question 43

The problem with ASBOs and IPNAs

Answer 43

1. Blurring the boundaries of crime: so that rude and discourteous behaviour becomes crime. Breaching an ASBO is itself a crime, thus they ‘manufacturing’ more crime
2. Subjective definition: ‘anti-social’ behaviour has no objective definition, it is in the eye of the beholder
3. Flexibility: ASBOs have been used against people wearing hoodies, making noise, letting off fireworks, begging etc - the net can be constantly widened to generate an almost endless number of ‘infringements’

Therefore, even though the crime rate has
gone down since the 1990s ,governments
have created a new ‘crime’ - or anti-social
behaviour wave - to replace it!

Question 44

EVALUATIONS OF LEFT REALISM: STRENGTHS

Answer 44

Left realism draws upon a number of theories to produce a fuller explanation for crime.
It does not glamorize criminals like Marxist writers do.
It takes the importance of crime and tackling it very seriously.
It recognises the devastating effects for the victims of crime, particularly from deprived groups.

Question 45

EVALUATIONS OF LEFT REALISM: CRITICISMS

Answer 45

Henry and Milovanovic (1996) argue that LR accepts the authorities’ definition of crime as being street crime committed by the poor, instead of defning the problem as one of how powerful groups do harm to the poor through corporate crime (Marxist view)
Interactionists argue that because LR uses quantitative data from victim surveys, they can not explain offenders’ motives
Relative deprivation cannot fully explain crime because not all those who experience it commit crime - it overpredicts the amount of crime

Question 46

The Square of Crime

Answer 46

In order to understand and tackle crime, Lea and Young have proposed the ‘square of crime’ to help understand the inter-relationships between four key elements of crime

crime in the middle
corner 1: social structral influences and formal control by the state
corner 2: the public and the extent of public informal social control
corner 3: victims, why do people become victims
corner 4: offenders, what motivtaes them?